Learning Ally Blog: Access and Achievement

Now more than ever, people with learning and visual disabilities are flourishing in the classroom, launching productive careers and becoming assets in their communities. This blog spotlights remarkable individuals who demonstrate that having a visual or print disability is no barrier to educational success.

Atlanta's Schenck School Wins Learning Ally's Great Reading Games National ContestOut of more than 200 schools across the country entered in the Learning Ally Great Reading Games contest to read the most this school year, it has been announced Atlanta's own Schenck School has won the top prize.
250 Schenck School students united to read more than 25,000 pages of textbooks and literature during the national contest sponsored by nonprofit Learning Ally.
Students at The Schenck School have been identified as having dyslexia, a learning disability, which affects one in five students across the country The root of dyslexia is a different brain structure resulting in struggles with sound structure. In other words, how letters make sounds. This impacts all aspects of language – oral and written.
So how did these students with dyslexia read all these books?
Through audiobooks. Schenck School students downloaded and read their pages of textbook, fiction/non fiction and other literature titles directly on their iPads, computers, smartphones, iPods and other devices.
“Reading books through Learning Ally helps to level the playing field for some of our students with dyslexia because it allows them to read higher level books – stronger in vocabulary and concepts,” Mary Wethern, Head Librarian at The Schenck School. “They want to read more when they have success in reading books that interest them."
Learning Ally provides 80,000 such audiobook titles to each of the approximately 10,000 students in schools across the US who participate in the Learning Ally program.
"We are so proud of The Schenck School," said Learning Ally Vice President Paul Edelblut, on hand to present the "big check" and other prizes to Schenck. "Students with dyslexia have the ability to read as much or more than any other kid in school; it is our responsibility to make sure they have the tools do do it. We hope to help every student who needs us."
___________________________________________________________________
About Learning Ally
Founded in 1948, Learning Ally has served millions of students in K-12, college and graduate school, along with veterans and lifelong learners – all of whom cannot read standard print due to learning differences like dyslexia; blindness and visual impairment; and other physical disabilities. Learning Ally’s programs enable parents, teachers and schools to help students with print disabilities succeed in education and prepare for productive careers. The organization offers integrated learning management systems and professional development for teachers, as well as support for parents through personal consultations, webinars and other tools. In addition, Learning Ally’s collection of 80,000 human-narrated textbooks and literature titles can be downloaded on mainstream smartphones and tablets, and is the largest of its kind in the world. Several thousand volunteers help to produce the educational materials, which students rely on to achieve academic and professional success. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, Learning Ally is partially funded by grants from state and local education programs, and the generous contributions of individuals, foundations and corporations. For more information, visit http://LearningAlly.org.
About The Schenck School
Since 1952, The Schenck School has been dedicated to the education of students with dyslexia. Using the highly-effective Orton-Gillingham Approach, the School teaches students to overcome individual learning differences and return to a traditional academic program as quickly as possible. The Schenck School also offered tutoring, summer academic programs, professional development for teachers and parents and an Adult Dyslexia Program. For more information, visit http://www.schenck.org.